Label: Cat & Mouse
Year of Release: 1989
Well, lumme... I uploaded this video to YouTube nearly two years ago, and the intention was always to blog about it at some point or another, but I never quite got around to it, being too excited by other things I found along the way.
I never saw Jim Jiminee live, but the verdict of everybody who did seems to be that they were an unforgettable proposition, being a sweaty and raucous act who tore plenty of small pubs and clubs to pieces with their enthusiasm. This single, released shortly before they finally split, epitomises that completely, filled with the melodic suss of Madness and the speed and energy of some demented fifties skiffle group.
The recording career of the band seems to have been disappointingly brief, beginning in 1987 with the "Do It On Thursday (EP)" which made its way on to the Chart Show (click on the link for an appearance four songs in) then ending with this two years later. Although they were aligned with the tweepop movement by some, it's clear to anyone with a clear pair of ears that they were much tighter than the vast majority of their C86 rivals, and more inspired by the grooves of bygone eras. They actually sounded tremendously out of place in the late eighties, and had they carried on into the nineties would doubtless have seemed even more quaint.
None of the band went on to much success after the split, and they remain something of an under-referenced act, not really namechecked as an influence by anybody, nor dug out at retro indie discos anywhere. Still, their solitary album "Welcome to Hawaii" has been reissued, and is actually worth a purchase, consisting of some simple but marvellous pieces of three minute pop. Click here to download the above mentioned track and also "Do It On Thursday".
5 comments:
yes they were a top live act, i saw them twice around 1988 - great energy/sound coupled with incisive lyrics- although they made only 1 album its stood the test of time and I'll never part with it - best kept secret in music ...
Blimey - I was lucky to see them many times at Fleet football club, the marquee, dingwalls, some place in Hampton Court (anyone?). They were awesome - definitely should have had more success.
Shame...
I played in a band once or twice with the Jameson Brothers, having grown up with them! Saw them a few times as well, and their subsequent band, 'The Deep Season'. Incredibly talented.
Hampton Court was at the Jolly Boatman, as a support for the BoYs Wonder. Saw them many time BITD. Jim Jiminee classic band as were BW. Check out Deep Season (who Jim Jiminee became) who has a CD called Island Monkeys.
My band Handsome Bastards played with Jim Jiminee several times in the late 80s (they even supported us one great night at Fleet Football Club!). Great band and really nice guys...
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